


Beating Quietly For You

by westywallowing



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Parents, And Soonyoung is the most fond a husband can be, Domestic Fluff, Fatherhood, Fluff, Jihoon is a very cute nervous first time dad, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi and Lee Jihoon | Woozi are parents, M/M, Orphanage, Parents AU, Seriously they are SO in love, So much domesticity, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, first snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:28:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26075689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westywallowing/pseuds/westywallowing
Summary: “Yes,” Jungmin chuckles, “I’m happy to let you know that we finally have a baby ready for you.”All the air in Jihoon’s lungs left in one big whoosh, he suddenly felt light headed and his knees wobbled. Jihoon immediately latches onto Soonyoung’s bare shoulder for leverage, his eyes finding his love’s instantly.Jihoon takes a shallow breath. “A baby?” he says so softly, it barely sounds like words. But the lady hears him, and Soonyoung hears him. His husband’s eyes go wide, his breathing stops completely and his hand which had found Jihoon’s clenches slightly.“She’s here waiting for you,” the woman says kindly. “You can come pick her up now if you’d like."
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my first fanfic :)
> 
> I'm quite nervous to post this. I haven't written in YEARS, and have never attempted to write a fanfic before (even though 90% of my reading selection is fics asdgdhflfkjg)
> 
> I got into Seventeen around their Pretty U era, and recently came back to them and now I'm obsessed once again. It's been a while, but these boys will always be there for me and I will always come back to support them :)
> 
> Soonhoon is,,,, my life, my end goals, my dreams LMAO I can't get over how much I love them. I've been wanting to write some fluff for them for a while, but only got around to it now !
> 
> A little disclaimer, I am not very knowledgeable on the world of adoption, and I 100% know there are multiple things left out and that adoption is a long process that can take up to multiple years. I also know that every persons experience with orphanages/foster care systems are different. Your experience is so valid and I know I only brushed the surface of it for many people. But hopefully this fluffy writing of this little family can bring you happiness, wherever you are. 
> 
> Please enjoy this sweet little number! I hope to possibly continue adding chapters to this fic, little scenes of Soonhoon and their baby girl :')
> 
> Much love! <3

* * *

All his life, Jihoon had kept one secret tight to his chest. 

He secretly, quietly, and surprisingly, wanted children.

As impossible as that may seem to those close to him.

Jihoon is quiet and slow, like a rumbly cat who only wants to walk around in peace. His husband will tell you best, Jihoon doesn’t like noise. He doesn’t like mess or clutter. He’s neat, he’s simple, and he likes his life to be in low volume. How he married someone who is opposite to him in every way, he couldn’t tell you. When they first met, Jihoon was convinced that he and Soonyoung would not get along. Soonyoung speaks in decibels high enough for Jihoon’s eardrums to ring. He leaves his dishes on the kitchen table hours after he has finished his meal, and his sense of style consists of every color imaginable to Jihoon’s eyes.

But after years of knowing him, Jihoon had started to notice that Soonyoung was different to the noisey people Jihoon had been forced to grow up with. Because yes, Soonyoung was loud, but he also talked loudly when he was excited, or happy, and Jihoon’s chest feels like it blows up with hydrogen when Soonyoung’s voice steadily raises with glee, and his eyes light up like lanterns. Yes, Soonyoung was messy, but watching him tumble around the house looking for the most mundane objects like his keys or favorite pair of socks that he had misplaced the previous day always made Jihoon’s heart grow fond. Yes, Soonyoung lived in color sometimes too bright for Jihoon’s eyes, but he somehow managed to look good in everything he tried on, and would consequently take years off of Jihoon’s mortal life span. 

So to everyone other than him, it was understood that noise and trouble were not welcome in the life of Lee Jihoon, with the exception of one Kwon Soonyoung. And children were trouble. Children were loud, messy, and needed constant attention. Jihoon was known as the workaholic, first only with his husband in second. No one had ever expected Jihoon to have much of a paternal nature. But Jihoon knew better. 

He wanted _more._

He saw the way Soonyoung looked at his young niece and nephew like he was meeting the sea in Jihoon’s hometown for the very first time. He knew that the house Soonyoung and Jihoon had bought a year after they married had one too many bedrooms, currently used as guest rooms and studies, but meant for so much more. He knew that the feeling he had in his chest when Soonyoung talked about their future so casually, yet so full of love and excitement, was different. He felt it when he’d drive by the child care center on his way to work every morning, knowing that it would soon consume him the more it grew. He felt it when he had first taken Soonyoung to the orphanage he grew up at in Busan, the day after they got engaged. He felt it in the way Soonyoung had held his hand, had listened, had held him when it felt like he couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t sympathy or nostalgia, like he had originally thought.

It was longing.

For the first time in his life, Jihoon was longing for the noise. He grew up with too much of it, too many kids in one room, too many mouths talking at once. But when he looked at Soonyoung, and the ring on his finger, and the house they shared, and the last name printed on Jihoon’s marriage certificate, he begins to think _maybe._

Maybe it won’t be like the talking mouths on other children his age who were like him, who didn’t have homes. Maybe it would be one, or two mouths. Maybe those mouths won’t be talking fully until eighteen months. Maybe the sound of socked feet on the hardwood, or babbles of content, or laughter caused by his husband's face were the sounds Jihoon was longing for. 

Maybe the fact that these talking mouths will have homes, that Jihoon will be one half of their home, means _everything_ to him.

* * *

Jihoon slowly opens the door to his house. His breath is frosty, his cheeks numb, and he checks the clock on the wall as he locks the deadbolt as quietly as he can. 4am.

The track he was working on was taking longer than usual. The notes weren’t flowing, the computer screen seemed too bright at times, and Jihoon’s brain would bounce around from one thought to the other like a pinball machine. He’d spent the last two hours of his night staring into space, trying to ask the sky for the inspiration to come, only for the stars to glow brighter, almost defiantly. Maybe that was their message to him telling him it was time to call it a night. Or maybe it was Jihoon’s sleep-deprived brain begging him to go home. He decided to listen to both.

This Winter was a bit too cold for Jihoon’s liking. _You just get cold too easily,_ Soonyoung always told him. So he unbundled himself from his layers of protective gear, starting with his scarf and ending with his beanie, hanging them all on the hooks that lined their hallway, full of winter coats and sweaters, some in a bigger size and some in a smaller. 

Deciding to skip a meal so late in the night knowing it would give him a stomach ache in the morning, Jihoon settled for pouring himself a cup of water in the tall plastic cup Seungcheol had given him randomly the year before. A souvenir from Japan, he said. Jihoon is convinced he stole it from the hotel and didn’t want to be caught by whoever came looking for it. 

Jihoon walks down the darkness of the hallway and up the stairs, letting his hand trail the wall the whole way up. When his hand finally reaches the first doorknob on the right, he turns it and walks into his favorite room of the house. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he feels his way along the dresser next to the bed, finding the switch for the dim fairy lights Jihoon had convinced Soonyoung on buying a couple months ago. He knew Soonyoung liked the cozy atmosphere it gave their room.

When Jihoon spots the dark figure laying on the left side of the bed, his eyes droop slightly. Soonyoung is curled up on a pillow, a poor replacement for his first choice of cuddle material, and is wearing no shirt and sweatpants. The comforter is strewn about on the bed, probably from Soonyoung’s slight habit of kicking his feet in his sleep when no one is sleeping in the bed with him. Jihoon feels the telltale feeling of fondness creep into his lungs as he sets his cup of water down on the right side night stand. He then drifts away to the bathroom at the other end of the room, taking off his clothes on the way and picking up one of Soonyoung’s college shirts off the floor and slipping it on. Once he emerges from the bathroom, bladder empty and mouth minty, the figure on the bed is no longer still, his arm stretched above his head and his hand rubbing one of his eyes. 

“Jihoonie?” Soonyoung’s voice was low and just barely above a whisper. 

“I’m home.” Jihoon tiptoed his way around the discarded shirts on the ground, resolved to picking them up tomorrow. 

“Were you working?” Soonyoung lays his head on the pillow but his eyes follow Jihoon’s body, slowly becoming more awake.

“Mm. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” Jihoon apologizes, now standing by his nightstand and taking the earrings out of his ears and placing them on the tray. Soonyoung props himself up on his arm, running his hand through his brown hair. 

“Did you eat?” he asked, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. 

“A bit earlier,” Jihoon mumbles, trying to find where his charging cord had fallen next to the bed. As he plugs it into his phone, it lights up, but not because of the charger. He was getting a phone call.

“Who’s calling at-,” Soonyoung squints at the bedside clock, “-four-thirty in the morning?”

Jihoon frowns at his phone screen. He doesn’t know who would ever call him this late. His work clients only call him during his instructed hours, and his friends mainly text in group chats that Jihoon has to mute and check in on every once in a while. That leaves-

“Hello?” he asks into his cellphone.

“Kwon Jihoon-ssi? My name is Jungmin, I’m with the Horizon River Orphanage,” a woman’s voice speaks into the receiver. 

Jihoon freezes. His hand grips tighter onto the phone. 

“I apologize for the call so late in the night, but we know how long you’ve been waiting to hear this, we wanted to call you right away.” she continues, but Jihoon barely hears her. Soonyoung sits up in bed, tuned in to Jihoon’s strange response to the call.

“Jihoon?” Soonyoung frowns in concern.

“Waiting to hear?” Jihoon’s voice sounding a bit breathless as he urges the woman to continue, hope filling his lungs.

“Yes,” Jungmin chuckles, “I’m happy to let you know that we finally have a baby ready for you.”

All the air in Jihoon’s lungs left in one big _whoosh_ , he suddenly felt light headed and his knees wobbled. He quickly sat down on the side of the bed, unable to stand. Soonyoung shoved the sheets off his legs, crawling over to Jihoon’s side of the bed. Jihoon immediately latches onto Soonyoung’s bare shoulder for leverage, his eyes finding his love’s instantly. Soonyoung’s eyes were full of concern, most likely wondering who on the other side of the phone would call them this late, and what they could have said to get such an intense reaction from his husband.

Jihoon takes a shallow breath. “A baby?” he says so softly, it barely sounds like words. But the lady hears him, and Soonyoung hears him. His husband’s eyes go wide, his breathing stops completely and his hand which had found Jihoon’s clenches slightly. 

“She’s here waiting for you,” the woman says kindly. “You can come pick her up now if you’d like, or you can wait until morning.”

Jihoon’s eyes started to fill. “ _She_?” he hiccuped. Soonyoung’s hand tightened around his. “My baby’s a girl?” he asked, his voice slowly getting deeper with emotion. His hand clasped in Soonyoungs started to shake, and Soonyoung intertwined their fingers, while his other hand found its place on Jihoon’s thigh, rubbing comfortingly. 

“Yes, Jihoon-ssi,” Jungmin patiently waited for his answer. “Would you and Soonyoung-ssi like to meet her now?”

Jihoon leaned forward while covering his mouth with his hand. His body shakes with emotion, and he’s unable to form a response, his mind repeating her words in his head. Soonyoung met him halfway, their foreheads resting together gently. His eyes never leaving Jihoon’s, the pure happiness emerging deep from within them telling Jihoon he had heard the woman through the phone. Checking Jihoon’s eyes for confirmation, he takes the phone from Jihoon’s hand and answers for them.

“We’ll be there in thirty minutes.” he replies. 

* * *

Jihoon’s hands were shaking as he slipped his shoes on. He almost fell over a few times, catching himself on the wall frame.

He couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Everything felt so surreal, so sudden but not. They had been working for this for _so long_ , so why does he feel so unprepared?

A gentle hand rests on his lower back as he stands up, slowly turning him towards the waiting body and keeping a loose hold. And as Jihoon looked up at his husband and saw an expression that he knew all too well, one full of fondness and too much love to handle, he felt a little bit of tension fall away from his shoulders. Soonyoung places a loving kiss in the middle of Jihoons forehead, sweeping away his honey blonde hair in the process. 

“Let’s take a deep breath, hm?” he hums. 

It's pitch black outside. Their hallway is lit only by the small lamp that rests by the shoe rack, and the air has the dusty but fresh feeling only noticeable at the earliest hours of the morning.

Jihoon takes a slow breath, in and out. His chest shakes slightly as he exhales, and Soonyoung’s second hand comes around to meet his other against Jihoon’s lower back. 

“How are you not freaking out right now?” Jihoon asks his husband, staring at his face, finding comfort in his features and tell-tale signs of limited sleep. Soonyoung’s face has chiseled out over time, losing some of the cheek fat Jihoon used to love poking and playing with. His eyes have a bit more happy lines to them, not because of age, but because of laughter. There seems to be a small smile attached to his face, attention completely locked on Jihoon.

“I am,” he chuckles, small breaths hitting Jihoon’s face, “My heart’s beating so hard it’s crazy. I think my chest might explode.” He and Jihoon share a small laugh, a smile finally making its way to Jihoon’s face.

There's a beat of silence; just the sound of the two of them breathing together in their front hallway.

“I can’t wait,” Soonyoung whispers against Jihoon’s cheeks. “I’ve been dreaming of this since we met. I’ve been waiting to see you with our child since you first told me you loved me,” he chuckles slightly, lost in memories. Jihoon’s eyes threaten to overflow so suddenly, and he reaches up to wipe away at them, then places his hand on the side of Soonyoung’s face. 

“It’s been a long time coming,” Jihoon says as Soonyoung leans into his hand. “I'm so happy I could burst,” Jihoon closes his eyes and sighs, “and I’m scared.” he says quietly.

Soonyoung nuzzles slightly against his forehead. “I know. I am too,” he breath smells like minty toothpaste. “But I’m with you. So I know I’ll be okay,” he says fondly, one of the hands on Jihoons back tracing mindless patterns. 

Soonyoung pulls him ever so slightly closer, looking him straight in the eyes. 

“We’ll be okay.” he whispers slowly. “We’re finally bringing her home. Our baby, our _daughter_ ,” his words run out of air and the smile on his face stretches that much further. 

“And we’re doing it together. In this house. In this town. Together.” Soonyoung tightens his arms for emphasis, and Jihoon smiles a bit more. 

“Together.” Jihoon leans forward and Soonyoung meets him halfway, sharing a kiss of reassurance. Of promises. 

When they break apart, they each take a breath, grab their scarves, and step out into the chilly winter air. They step through the door as a duo for the last time. 

* * *

Jihoon is calmer during the car ride. Soonyoung holds his hand on the dash while keeping his eyes on the road, safely taking them to their destination. To the orphanage.

Despite Jihoon’s complicated relationship with orphanages, he was excited to go. He had slowly made his way through his discomfort of going to them over the past year as he and Soonyoung had met with many child care takers and social workers and front desk employees.

Jihoon didn’t have a bad history with the orphanage system, he was lucky to grow up in one with kind care takers, and was happy spending his last two years of high school in his foster home. He still keeps in contact with his foster parents, calling them on holidays and sending pictures every now and then. 

But his feelings from that time have always felt trapped there. He was grateful for what he had, for the comfort he was given, knowing how many other children like him were less fortunate (he and Soonyoung had seen some questionable orphanages in their year of searching, it always made Jihoon feel sick). But he was lonely there. He often felt trapped and alone in his problems during his childhood. His nostalgia over how he grew up was tinted with a melancholy, heavy feeling. 

However now he’s making a new memory. He’s creating space in his mind to fill with a new experience at the orphanage that's full of excitement, happiness and love. And he’s ready to do it. 

They pull into the parking lot after a short ten minute drive. They both take a second to stare at the building in front of them. Preparing themselves the little bit more. 

They step out of the car and meet each other at the head. Their gloved hands find each other with no trouble, and they start the slow walk to the orphanage’s front door.

Soonyoung gently pushes the door open, and they walk into the warm and dimly lit welcoming area. Their footsteps echo throughout the room, and a young woman comes out from one of the rooms off of the hallway. 

“Kwon Soonyoung-ssi and Kwon Jihoon-ssi?” she asks and bows politely, voice low but easy to hear. 

“Yes, that’s us.” Jihoon says quietly as they both bow in return. The woman smiles at them and walks behind the front desk, grabbing a clipboard and a pen. 

“If you could follow me to one of our back rooms, we’ll get you to complete the final bit of paperwork and then we can take you to the nursery upstairs.” She gestures for them to follow and she leads them through the hallway. Jihoon pulls on Soonyoung’s hand and walks a bit ahead of him, hearing a light chuckle from the man behind him at his eagerness.

They enter a small but comfortable room with shelves and a table with a few chairs. They each pull up a chair, and as the woman shows him and Soonyoung where to sign their names, Jihoon’s mind is elsewhere. Tuning in to the creaks of the house, the small sounds of breathing fluttering to the first floor coming from the nurseries and bedrooms up the stairs. 

He wonders what his daughter will look like. Will her nose be red and small? Will her eyes be slanted or round? Tilted up or down? Will her hair be black or a dark brown?

His hands twitch around the pen he holds. He wants to see her. He wants to bring his daughter home. 

“Hoonie?” 

Jihoon looks over at the man next him, Soonyoung and the woman’s eyes already on him.

“Are you ready Jihoon-ssi?” the woman asks gently. 

Jihoon barely has the strength to nod. He and Soonyoung stand, and the woman quietly opens the door and leads them into the hallway once more. This time they pass the welcoming room, pass a small but full kitchen, and head up the carpeted stairs. The woman stops at the top of the stairs and points to a door a few feet away, one that has a star printed on the front. 

“This is the baby’s nursery. You go can go inside whenever you're ready.”

Jihoon freezes. This time, it's Soonyoung who tugs on his hand ever so slightly, leading him to the door and placing his hand on the handle. He sees his husband hesitate, take a shallow breath, and push the door open.

The room is simple. Made for small babies to be kept for short periods of time. The room is filled with pastels, some pinks and oranges. There are small night lights littering the walls, casting the room in a cozy glow. And in the corner sits a simple white crib, with a small figure laying inside.

Jihoon’s throat closes up. His and Soonyoung’s hands are grasping onto each other for dear life, emotion running through their bodies like an electric current. 

A step. Then another. Two more steps. Their feet stop.

And Jihoon sees her. Her tiny hands curled into fists. Her small feet peeking out of the peach baby blanket covering her tiny body. Her chest rises and falls with tiny huffs, eyes closed. Her cheeks are full and flushed, her nose like a button and pink. Her mouth seems stuck in a little “o” shape, her lips smacking together every once in a while. 

Jihoon has never seen something so beautiful. And she’s _theirs_. 

He reaches his hand out to her, his pinky finger resting ever so gently on her temple and sliding down her cheek. Jihoon’s eyes overflowed for the third time that night. 

She’s _perfect_. 

“Soonie,” he says in a broken whisper. “Soonie, this is our baby.” 

Soonyoung wraps his arms around his husband's side, resting his head on the side of Jihoons. His eyes were glossy with tears breaking through, his face a mix of love, fondness and serenity.

“Yes, Jihoonie,” he whispers, “Hello, baby.”

And it was no longer just Jihoon and Soonyoung. Jihoon’s heart was now beating quietly for two. 

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

The first thing Soonyoung hears when he’s pulled from sleep is a cry.

His face flinched as the noise startled him out of his state of unconsciousness. He turns his head into his pillow, breathing out a huff of air that normally would’ve been a groan, if he were not so tired.

He turned his head ever so slightly to steal a glance at the clock on his bedside table. 

2:37am.

He mentally whined. It felt like he had _just_ gone to sleep. And maybe he had, it’s hard to keep track of time when your day is measured in three hour increments. 

He dug his head back into his pillow and raised his arm to gently slap the figure sleeping next to him. 

“Baby, it’s your turn,” his voice sounding scratchy and tired.

No response. He blindly slaps the figure a couple more times, finally hearing a whine and a small movement. 

“Jihoon,” he repeats.

“I did it last time,” he hears a soft response, sounding like Jihoon had covered his head in their bed sheets. 

“No, you were _supposed_ to do it last time. I did it for you. It’s your turn,” Soonyoung replies, already half asleep again. 

This time he hears a long sigh in response and feels the blankets shift to reveal his husband, blonde hair sticking up in multiple directions and eyes not even open even as he sits up in bed.

Even half asleep, Soonyoung takes a moment to admire his husband. His hair’s a mess, there’s drool on the side of his mouth, his face is puffy with sleep, and he’s pretty sure there’s old spit up on the collar of his big t-shirt that Soonyoung thinks used to belong to him. He looks _atrocious_ , and Soonyoung is madly in love. 

He reaches over to squeeze Jihoon’s hand. “Love you.” he says.

“Luh’ you too,” Jihoon mumbles out around his sleep muddled brain, barely awake.

His husband stays sitting up staring blankly at the wall for another 30 seconds until he hears another cry through the baby monitor.

“I'm comin', I'm comin,” he says tiredly, his legs finally swinging over the bedside and standing him up, a few groans coming out from his mouth. He stretches his arms over his head, hearing a satisfying _pop_ in his lower back, and trudges himself out of their bedroom and down the hall towards the nursery. 

The last 2 weeks of Soonyoung’s life has been absolute chaos. He thought he was prepared, he thought he had bought everything he needed, built the nursery from the ground up, read every book. Of course, he knew it would be difficult, but didn't really know anything. He understands now what other fathers had meant when he wouldn’t understand what it's like to be a parent until you had a baby. 

But his _baby_. She makes everything worth it. He would get zero sleep every day of the week if it meant keeping his daughter healthy and happy. He breaks a little bit inside every time he hears her cry, a small amount of panic emerging in his stomach. His heart grows a bit more every time he hears her laugh, a huge amount of love filling his entire body. He doesn’t know how he ever felt complete without his daughter in his life. How he didn’t fall apart at the seams.

But then he sees his husband as he picks her up, or plays with her settled on his legs, or tickles her belly while making her laugh. _Ah_ , he acknowledges. _That’s how._

Jihoon is the needle and thread that keeps him together. Jihoon is the oxygen that fills his lungs every time he breathes in or exhales. He’s the blanket that keeps Soonyoung from feeling like his limbs will freeze off every time he has to go through the December weather to get extra diapers at 11pm. 

Jihoon is his. And he’s Jihoon’s. And they now have a new addition to their family that requires so much love and attention and care. And they give it to her and more, they give her their entire beings.

Soonyoung lays half asleep in bed for another ten minutes, not able to fully go to sleep until Jihoon is back in his arms again. His husband was taking longer than usual, and it kept Soonyoung in a confused state of consciousness until he heard the very faint sound of humming through the baby monitor. No longer his daughter’s cries, but his husband's voice instead. 

Soonyoung's brain wakes up more and a smile creeps it’s way onto his face. He slowly pushes himself up and out of bed, stumbling over the piles of clothes littering his side of the room. As he walks down the hallway closer to the nursery, the humming gets louder, until he’s leaning against the door frame of his daughter’s bedroom and the humming turns out to be quiet singing, coming from the man standing in front of the crib holding their baby in his arms.

He didn’t think he could love Jihoon even more, but his heart continues to grow and grow and grow, he’s concerned that one of these days it’ll pop. Jihoon is swaying slightly side to side, singing the lyrics of a song he’d written years ago. _Hug_ , Soonyoung remembers it was called. 

Jihoon doesn’t notice him until he goes to take a seat on the small love seat couch they had put in the room along with everything else. He looks up and sees Soonyoung and instantly smiles, reaching a hand out to him.

Soonyoung pushes himself off the door frame and walks over to Jihoon’s side, lowering himself onto the couch and placing his arms around his husband’s frame. 

They sat like that in silence, just basking in the warmth the other brings, holding their daughter like there's nothing better they could be doing.

“I love you, Jihoonie,” Soonyoung says against Jihoon’s hair.

Jihoon snorts. His shoulders shake up and down with a few chuckles.

“What?” Soonyoung pouts.

“So suddenly?” Jihoon teases, a smirk on his face. 

“Oh, pardon me,” Soonyoung teases back, “I need to build up to it first. Jihoon, the love of my life, my one and only, the other half of my soul-”

Jihoon laughs quietly, careful not to jostle the baby in his arms too much. He leans his head back onto Soonyoung's shoulder to look up at him. “You sap.” he says with a smile.

“Only for you,” Soonyoung hums back, pressing a quick kiss to Jihoon's forehead. 

Jihoon looks down at their daughter. “Your daddy is silly,” he says quietly to her, not expecting a reaction.

“Yah,” Soonyoung scolds, “Your appa is the silly one,” he says to her. 

They both chuckle. Jihoon tilts his baby so that she’s laying on his chest and shoulder, and he then leans himself back against Soonyoung to rest his own head against his husband's chest. Soonyoung relaxes his body into the couch and settles into a comfortable position. With his daughter and his husband where they belong, with him, there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. 

When Soonyoung is almost asleep, his breathing starting to even out, he hears Jihoon quietly call him. “Soonyoung?”

“Mm?”

“I love you too.”

Soonyoung sleepily chuckles. “I know, Jihoonie.”

“And guess what?” Jihoon asks.

“What, baby?”

Jihoon settles more into the crook of Soonyoung’s neck, holding a little tighter onto their daughter.

“Eunmi loves you so much,” 

Soonyoung smiles wide, face probably looking ridiculously in love and dopey. He bends down slightly to cradle his daughter's small head in his hand and press a kiss to her downy hair.

“And I love her and you, _so much_.”

* * *

“Soonyoung? Where did you put my pink hoodie?” Jihoon calls from their bedroom.

“The light pink one or the hot pink one?” Soonyoung calls back from the kitchen.

“The light one!” he hears a reply.

“It’s in the wash!”

“Why? I just washed it the other day!”

“There was throw up on it!”

“God dammit,” he hears a softer reply.

Soonyoung looks at his daughter, who’s sitting in her high chair patiently watching him. Her face is covered in baby food after one too many missed attempts. Soonyoung thought he’d be better at feeding with a spoon instead of a bottle after 4 months, but maybe this is something both him and his daughter need practice at. 

He stands up and goes to get a baby wipe, coming back and sitting in his stool and wiping his daughters face clean.

She smiles at him and giggles as he moves her face around with the wipe, and Soonyoung smiles. 

“I think you might be messier than me, Eunmi-ya,” he says fondly. She continues to smile up at him, probably not understanding a thing, but loving the attention from her dad. 

He hears footsteps coming down the stairs and soon Jihoon emerges with slightly damp hair and a pastel yellow sweatshirt on with shorts. Eunmi spots her other father and raises her hands to him, silently asking to be held.

Jihoon smiles wide and walks over to her, reaching his hands under her armpits to pick her up. 

“Good morning, bug,” he says to her. She giggles as he raises her up into the air. 

“Went with the yellow one then?” Soonyoung says with a smile, wiping the tray on the high chair and taking Eunmi’s spoon to the sink. 

“Second best,” Jihoon says, placing Eunmi on his hip and walking towards the coffee machine, pushing a few buttons to turn it on.

“Isn’t it mine?” Soonyoung asks absentmindedly while he washes some of the left over pots and pans from the night before.

Jihoon looks down at his hoodie as Eunmi plays with the drawstrings. “Maybe? Is anything we own only yours or mine at this point?”

Soonyoung chuckles. “It’s a co-ownership,” he replies.

“Hey, do we have any- No, Eunmi, don’t eat that- do we have any rice left?” Jihoon asks in the pantry, taking his hoodie string out of his daughter’s mouth. 

Soonyoung dries his hands with a towel and walks over to the pantry to peer over Jihoon’s shoulder. “I guess not,” he hums. 

“Grocery trip?” he asks.

Jihoon huffs. “We’re almost out of coffee too. Grocery trip.”

Soonyoung hangs the hand towel on the oven handle. Jihoon walks over to get his fresh cup of coffee from the machine and bumps Soonyoung’s hip on the way. 

“You go shower, I’ll get her dressed,” he says while bouncing Eunmi on his hip, smiling at the little sounds she makes.

“Alright,” Soonyoung smiles and presses a kiss to Eunmi’s forehead, then heading up the stairs. 

\---

“Jihoonie? Are you two ready to go?” Soonyoung calls up the stairs, bending over to tie the laces on his timberland boots. 

“Might need a little help, Soonyoung!” he hears from upstairs, followed by a loud squeal that tells Soonyoung that his daughter is getting impatient.

He heads up the stairs two at a time and walks into the nursery, the room bright with the curtains open. Jihoon is standing next to the changing table trying to put warm socks on Eunmi, but she keeps kicking her legs and giggling at her father’s impatient huffs. 

Soonyoung walks over and leans over the table above his daughter’s face. 

“Yah, Eunmi, are you giving your appa trouble?” he asks her, accentuating his facial expressions to get his daughters attention. Her eyes focus on his face and she stares blankly at him for a few seconds, moving slightly as Jihoon finishes putting on her socks and starting to put on another pair of pants over her onesie. 

He leans towards her face even more, rubbing his nose to hers and finally getting a laugh as a response. She lifts her tiny hands to touch his cheeks, one almost grabbing his hair in a fist, but Soonyoung is quick to grab her hand in his and let it wrap around his fingers instead. 

“Ah ah, not my hair. These tiny things will never let go,” Soonyoung says dramatically, raising her fist to his mouth to pretend to take a bite of it. Eunmi squeals, and he chuckles at her and turns to see if Jihoon was almost done dressing her. Jihoon is doing the last couple buttons on her coat, but is smiling so wide that his eyes almost disappear and his dimples show (which is one of Soonyoung’s _favorite_ Jihoon smiles). 

“Alright, all done,” Jihoon says to himself, reaching over Eunmi to pick her up and put her on his hip. He shakes his bangs out of his face and looks at Soonyoung expectantly. “Let’s go?”

“Lead the way.” Soonyoung says while stepping aside for his husband to walk down the hallway.

\---

“Soonyoung, put it back.”

“But it’s 50% off!” Soonyoung pouts.

“We don’t need another box of cereal,” Jihoon states, not even looking at the object Soonyoung had put in the cart. 

“How did you even know it was cereal,” Soonyoung mumbles, already taking the box out of the cart and putting it back on the shelves.

“Because I know you, love.” Jihoon answers simply. 

Soonyoung huffs and bounces lightly on the balls of his feet. “Is there anything I can go and get to make things faster?” he asks.

Jihoon hums and pulls up the list on his phone. “Orange juice and milk? Eggs are over there too,” he answers back.

“Already on it.” Soonyoung says, walking ahead to go a couple aisles over.

He’s busy reading the labels on the milk, trying to decide whether or not he should get 1% or 2%, when he feels a little tug on his pant leg. 

He looks down to see a little girl, maybe four or five years old, looking up at him expectantly.

“Excuse me mister, I must get to the orange packs,” she says politely, almost as if she had rehearsed it in her head, or had been taught that exact phrase before.

Soonyoung grins at her formal language. “Of course, ma'am,” he says back while dramatically taking a step backwards, allowing the girl room to get to the orange juice packs that were in the middle shelf. 

The girl giggled at his antics. She walks up to the refrigerator door to open it, but it seems too heavy for her. Soonyoung steps forwards and opens the door for her, receiving an enthusiastic “thank you!” in return. 

When the girl has the box of juice packs in her hand, she turns around to look at the aisles, a small pout and frown appearing on her face. 

“What’s wrong?” Soonyoung asks.

She looks up at him with a sad look on her face. “I don’t remember where my Mama was,” she says, distressed.

Soonyoung’s eyebrows raise, and he crouches down to be at her height. “It’s okay, I can help you find her! What’s your name?” he asks, trying to sooth the girl to stop her from getting too upset. 

“Sooyoung,” she says back, a small pout in her voice.

Soonyoung makes his mouth drop open and his eyes go wide, a trick he’s learned for keeping kids attention. “Wow! My name is _Soon_ young! We’re almost twins!” he says excitedly. The girl's eyes go wide, her mouth making a small “o” shape. 

“Okay Sooyoung, what food do you remember getting with your Mama last?” he asks while standing up to his full height.

“Um,” she rubs her cheek, trying to remember. “Cereal,” she tells him. 

Soonyoung smiles, “What a coincidence! I was just there. I’ll show you the way,” he says, pointing to the correct aisle.

Sooyoung nods and grabs onto his pant leg as they walk the short distance to the cereal and breakfast aisle. Soonyoung spots Jihoon where he left him with the stroller, and his husband turns to him and immediately notices the girl attached to his leg with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m pretty sure I sent you to get eggs,” he says with an amused expression.

“She got separated from her mom,” Soonyoung replies, then noticing a woman with a cart at the other end of the aisle, looking around for someone. 

“Mama!” Sooyoung exclaims, running over to her mom’s cart.

“Sooyoung-ah, don’t run off like that!” her mother scolds, bending down to brush her hair back in relief. “Next time, tell me when you go off to get juice.” 

Sooyoung pouts and gives her mom the juice box. Her mom grabs her hand to walk away, and she turns around to wave goodbye at Soonyoung as they turn into another aisle. Soonyoung waves back just as enthusiastically. 

He turns back to his husband to see him smiling at him with a knowing look on his face. “What?” Soonyoung asks, placing the milk in the cart. 

“You must have an amazing ‘dad aura’” Jihoon says, “Children always seem to love you.”

Soonyoung brightens. “Yeah, maybe! You’re too scary, Jihoonie, you scowl at everyone except Eunmi and I,” he teases.

Jihoon then proves his point by twisting his face at him. Soonyoung laughs. “Okay, maybe just Eunmi then.” he said. 

“You love this face.” 

“I do. Don’t worry, you’re not scary to me, Hoonie.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?” Jihoon teases, handing Eunmi her pacifier when she makes grabby hands at him. 

“Maybe a bit of both?”

Jihoon’s face lights up in amusement. “Alright, let’s get this done. Did you get the eggs too?”

"Oh shoot."

\---

“Soonie.”

Soonyoung stirs. There's a small movement on his shoulder, pushing him gently. 

“Soonyoung, wake up.”

He cracks his eyes open a few times to get used to the light in his room, telling him it was morning already. He rolls over onto his back and he feels a weight settle on his legs, pressing him into the bed. 

He opens his eyes again to see Jihoon’s face right in front of his. He’s sitting on Soonyoung’s lap and leaning over his chest. Soonyoung instantly smiles. The first thing he sees in the morning is his husband’s face. He can already tell that he’s going to have a good day.

“Hi,” he whispers.

“Hi,” Jihoon whispers back. “Guess what?”

“What?” Soonyoung says, still under some fogs of sleep.

“It’s February 1st,” Jihoon starts, “And it’s snowing.”

Soonyoung opens his eyes fully and turns to look outside the window, the curtains having been drawn open by Jihoon earlier that morning. And indeed, just as Jihoon had said, there are small snowflakes falling from the sky, and the street is slowly being covered in white. 

Soonyoung smiles at his husband. “And I’m assuming you want to go outside?”

“You already know the answer to that.” Jihoon responds. 

Soonyoung was born in June, and has always been more of a summer person. He loves feeling the sun, going outside in shorts, getting ice cream from the convenience store. It’s not that he hates winter, but he gets cold very easily and then gets a bit grumpy, and Jihoon always has to wrap him in layers of blankets and placate him with hot chocolate and kisses before he’s back to his normal self.

Jihoon _loves_ winter. He loves the oversized coats and sweaters, he loves the crisp mornings, and he loves the feeling of the world being cold and still. Most of all, Jihoon loves snow. One of the only times Soonyoung ever sees his husband get excited like a child over something, is when it snows. And today, that is no exception.

Jihoon nuzzles his head into the center of Soonyoung’s chest, gradually wrapping himself around him so that he’s basically laying on top of him. Soonyoung wraps his arms around Jihoon’s head, breathing in the scent of his shampoo.

“Will you go out with me?” he mumbled into Soonyoung’s bare chest. 

“Wow, so forward Jihoonie. We only just met,” Soonyoung teases, tracing light patterns down Jihoon’s back. 

Jihoon laughs. “I meant _outside_ , you idiot.” he says, wrapping himself tighter around Soonyoung. 

Soonyoung chuckles at his husband's early morning clinginess. “I always do,” he says. 

Jihoon sits up and scooches his body upwards, now resting on Soonyoung’ stomach. He leans down and cups Soonyoung’s face to give him a sweet kiss. Soonyoung savors it, knowing Jihoon won’t kiss him again until he’s up and has his teeth brushed. When he pulls away he pecks his lips once, twice, and then sits up and combs his fingers through Soonyoung’s hair.

“Your hair’s a mess,” he says. 

“You need to bleach your roots,” Soonyoung shoots back.

“Ooh, low blow, I’m a new father, sue me.” Jihoon teases.

Soonyoung laughs and grabs the hand out of his hair to interlock their fingers. “Still beautiful to me,” he kisses Jihoon’s hand.

Jihoon’s lips turn upwards in a fond grin. Soonyoung kisses his hand once more and then Jihoon gets up off his chest to sit on the edge of the bed.

“You go get Eunmi, I need to shower. I stink.” he says standing up and walking over to their walk in closet. 

Soonyoung sits up and turns to look out the window. _First snow,_ he thinks. _As a family._

\---

By lunch time, the Kwons were bundled up in every coat imaginable, one taller and face tucked in scarves to keep his freezing form somewhat warmer, and one shorter, only wearing one coat and a beanie, holding their little girl while staring up at the sky with her. He laughed as his daughter tried to reach up and grab the snow falling, and he looked up and stuck his tongue out, encouraging her to do the same. With her varied motor skills, she manages to open her mouth like a gaping fish and giggle when Jihoon does. Soonyoung is _fond_. 

“Soonie, are you actually going to step off the porch and play with your daughter?” Jihoon calls, a mischievous look on his face. 

Soonyoung smiles as best he can with his freezing cheeks. “But I love watching you,” he says back. 

Jihoon laughs and walks over to him grinning. Eunmi bounces on his hip and makes some babbling noises as he climbs their porch steps. 

“You’re such a baby,” Jihoon says fondly. 

“Only for you.” Soonyoung says back. Jihoon leans up to kiss him, but when the hand that isn’t supporting his daughter moves to rest on Soonyoung’s neck, he feels an earth shattering cold drip down his scarf and into his jacket. 

Soonyoung gasps and jumps, moving to get away from a laughing Jihoon while cursing wildly.

“Oh my _god_! You ass!” he shouts while trying to shake the snow out of this jacket. Jihoon is doubling over with laughter, barely breathing as he readjusts his grip on Eunmi when she whines as she gets too close to the ground. 

“Your-” he gasps, “Your face, love! _Amazing_!” Jihoon can’t seem to catch his breath, and Soonyoung steps forward to quickly steal Eunmi from Jihoon’s arms. He reaches down to the ground and picks up a ball of snow and hurls it at his husband.

“Ah!” Jihoon squeals, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he laughs, shaking the snow out of his hair. He steps back one too many times, and the near five inches of snow causes him to topple over. He lands with another laugh, and Soonyoung takes the opportunity to run over and sit on his husband's legs, pinning him into the snow. His free hand moves under Jihoon’s coat to pinch his husband’s side playfully. 

“No no no _no_ Soonie I’m sorry-” he’s cut off by his own squeal as Soonyoung’s cold fingers touch his belly, laughing and squirming underneath Soonyoung’s weight.

“That’s what you get for being such a trickster!” Soonyoung counters. Eunmi babbles, giggling along with her father’s laughter, reaching out for Jihoon on the ground. Soonyoung stops his torment and shifts his daughter to let her rest on Jihoon’s chest. Jihoon immediately puts his hands behind her back to steady her.

“Baby, save me,” he says breathlessly. Eunmi just giggles when Jihoon bounces her up and down, making Soonyoung laugh. 

“She won’t save you, she’s on _my_ side,” Soonyoung grins. 

“I’m wounded,” Jihoon gasps, “Betrayed by my daughter. Slandered by my husband,” he says dramatically. Eunmi flops forward onto Jihoon’s chest and laughs as she catches herself, her face right in front of her father’s.

Jihoon gives her a wide toothy smile and kisses her cheeks. “Okay, maybe you’re a little too cute to betray me.” he says to her.

“Just maybe.” Soonyoung echos back, lifting himself off of Jihoon and allowing him and Eunmi to sit up. 

"Alright," Jihoon says, turning around to face Soonyoung. "Hot chocolate and cuddles on the couch? Some movies?" He asks.

Soonyoung takes a second to properly look at his husband. Standing a few feet in front of him, snow in his dusty blonde hair and grinning that toothy grin that makes his eyes almost disappear. Their house behind him and their daughter on his hip, looking at Soonyoung with those big bright eyes.

There's really no other thing he wants in life. This is it. This is all he's ever wished for.

"There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got out a second add-on to this fic!! 
> 
> I wasn't sure at the beginning if I wanted to leave it as a one-shot or keep adding, but I found myself writing more almost immediately ^^' these boys, they really take up so much of my creative brain space~
> 
> I actually already have ideas for a third chapter! Not too sure if we'll go past that for this particular fic, but I will definitely be writing more Soonhoon fics in the future.
> 
> But about this chapter, we've now met Eunmi properly! Say hello, she's very small and soonhoon love her very much. I didn't write too much about the timeline or how old she is in the different parts simply because,,,, i don't know much about babies and their development AGDHFGKTL so please excuse some inconsistencies there~ just know that there is a couple month skip from the beginning of the chapter and the second half, if anyone was confused.  
> Also omg plz don't be like the little girl and talk to strangers in stores aasffjjfkglk that scene is just to reiterate the fluff factor in Soonyoung being good with kids!
> 
> Thank you so much for the love on this fic!! Hopefully I can write something that relaxes you or makes you feel like you're being given an internet hug. Because that's what I'm sending you (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
> 
> Until next time~


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